Image from BBC
X, formerly known as Twitter, has undergone a lot of changes in recent months. Yep, you heard that right. Months, not years. Thanks to Elon Musk’s shenanigans, the app we know, and love could be locked behind a paywall in the future.
According to the SpaceX boss, this change is necessary to counter bots on the platform. In a recent conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon said that X is “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system”. When approached by BBC on this matter, the company has yet to confirm anything.
We are not sure if this is just a one-off or on-the-fly kind of statement from Elon. However, it could be a sign of a more concrete plan in the future. After all, Elon has always mentioned that his plan of eliminating bots and fake accounts on the platform is to charge for verification.
Looks like Elon does not plan on stopping at X Premium
Ever since his takeover last year, Elon has created an X Premium plan which rewards you with enhanced service. That includes longer posts and increased visibility on the platform. The catch? You will have to pay a certain fee monthly. However, you can still use X for free. Elon also said:
“A bot costs a fraction of a penny to make. But if somebody even must pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high. X Premium currently costs $8 (£6.50) a month in the US. The price differs depending on which country a subscriber is in. The world's richest person said that he was now looking at cheaper options for users. We're going to come up with lower-tier pricing. So, we just want it to be just a small amount of money. This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is the only defence against vast armies of bots”.
We are unsure if this is the right way for X. Locking X behind a paywall might lose them most of their users. After all, the app was free to begin with.
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